


A Change of Pace

by glymr



Category: Showdown in Little Tokyo
Genre: Fluff, Help Haiti, Other, slice-of-life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-14
Updated: 2010-01-14
Packaged: 2017-12-11 18:59:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/802074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glymr/pseuds/glymr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Johnny had to eat another bite of rice or slurp another noodle, he was going to puke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Change of Pace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kadorienne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kadorienne/gifts).



> Written for Kadorienne's donation to Direct Relief during Help Haiti.

"What's wrong with Sasaki-san's place?" asked Chris.

Johnny scowled. "Look, I'm just sick of Japanese food, okay?"

"We had burgers last night," said Chris mildly.

"I know, I know. It's just..." Johnny blew out his breath with a sigh. It wasn't that he'd been totally unfamiliar with Japanese food. His mom had made it...occasionally. It was just that she was a terrible cook, and it had usually fallen to his father to make sure they didn't starve.

But Chris had insisted that Johnny needed to 'get in touch with his roots', and every time it was his turn to pick, he'd insisted on dragging them to every Japanese place within 50 miles...and no "fusion" restaurants or teriyaki joints, either. He preferred the hole-in-the wall places where you were supposed to sit on your knees and the staff were more comfortable speaking Japanese than English.

So far he'd introduced Johnny to ramen (noodles), soba (also noodles), udon (*cold* noodles), tonkatsu (a breaded pork chop on rice), oyakodon (egg and chicken on rice), unagidon (*eel* on rice)...if Johnny had to eat another bite of rice or slurp another noodle, he was going to puke.

They'd even gone to eat fish off the naked chicks which had been, well, _interesting_ , but raw fish was still *raw fish* no matter how it was served. And, of course, it wasn't just raw fish, it was raw fish on _rice_.

Still, the naked chicks had been nice. At least, Johnny had thought so. Who knew what Kenner thought?...Annoying, stoic, Japanese bastard.

Then there were the desserts. Some people said that the Japanese stayed in good shape because they were more active than Americans, but Johnny knew better. It was because their desserts *sucked*. He really should have known after his first experience with eating mochi - which had been rather like eating strawberry-flavored *rubber* - but it seemed he never learned. When Kenner had bought a fish-shaped pastry from a street vendor and tossed it over to him, he'd bitten right into it...then almost gagged on the filling of _sweet red bean paste_. In America, they had Krispy Kremes. In Japan? Fish-shaped pastries stuffed with Red. Bean. Paste.

Even _then_ he hadn't learned, blithely accepting a green ice cream cone from Kenner one day, without stopping to think that it might *not* actually be mint-flavored. But no, he'd taken a lick all-unknowing, and only then realized that it was _green tea-flavored ice cream_.

Johnny sighed again.

"I'm tired of steaks and burgers," said Chris quietly.

"And I'm tired of noodles and rice," snapped Johnny. "Look," he added, "Why don't we try something totally different tonight?"

Chris looked intrigued. "Like what?"

"I don't know. Hawaiian. German. There's an Indian place half a block from here, and we've never even been there!"

Chris considered for a long moment, and Johnny held his breath. Then Chris smiled. "Indian it is, then," he said.

"Great!" said Johnny quickly, before Chris could change his mind, and grabbed his coat.

"You're buying," said Chris as he pushed open the door.

Johnny sputtered as he followed him out, but he didn't really mind.


End file.
